WILLisms.com: Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 176 -- Gasoline Taxes.

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Trivia Tidbit Of The Day: Part 176 -- Gasoline Taxes.

Gas Taxes-

Feeling the pain at the pump?

Well, let's turn our attention to gasoline taxes.

First, the rise of the Federal Excise Tax on gas over the past 70-something years:

...the federal gas tax alone equals 18.4 cents for every gallon purchased.

A brief history of the federal gas tax:

In 1932, the federal government imposed the first federal gas tax. It began as a temporary levy with a rate of just 1 cent per gallon. Over the years, the tax burden has increased significantly. The Revenue Act of 1941 made the federal gas tax permanent and increased the rate to 1.5 cents per gallon to help fund the war effort. A decade later in 1951, the tax was increased to 2 cents per gallon to assist in the funding of the Korean War.
After President Eisenhower’s idea of an interstate highway system had been instituted, the federal gas tax was raised to 4 cents per gallon in 1959. As recent as 1981, the federal gas tax remained at 4 cents per gallon. Significant tax increases in 1982, 1990 and 1993 increased the federal gas tax by 14.4 cents per gallon, or 360 percent from 1981 levels.

But wait, there's more!

There are also state gas taxes. Let's look at the worst and best:

-Click for larger version (.jpg)-

Those darker-shaded ones are the ten highest gas-tax states:

Today, the combined burden of federal, state and local gas taxes costs American drivers an average of 45.9 cents on every gallon purchased....
...that amounts to an annual gas tax burden of roughly $271 for every man, woman and child in the United States. In these times of concern over high gas prices, American consumers should remember that gasoline taxes have a significant impact on the amount they spend at the pump.

Bravo to those repealing, even temporarily, their state gasoline taxes.

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Previous Trivia Tidbit: A Failing European Social Model (Especially Germany).

Posted by Will Franklin · 21 September 2005 08:33 AM

Comments

I'm just amazed that since 1992 they haven't gone up any more on the federal level...

Posted by: Hoodlumman at September 21, 2005 02:04 PM

The tax rate growth is far below inflation over the decades. And it is also below the increase in the cost of petroleum.

I catch hell everytime I say that increased carbon taxes are almost the only good policy Al Gore had. The Democrats reply that all his policies were good and the Republicans say none were.

Too bad! Our streets are full of 7 mpg SUVs just as 20 years ago every road was clogged with 5 mpg campers. The people that spend $40K+ for them are furious at the thought of spending $300/year for fuel tax.

Posted by: K at September 21, 2005 06:02 PM

Talk about unintended consequences: when progressives point out that Americans should have no trouble paying another $0.20 per gallon in taxes, they are signaling to gas companies that they aren't charging enough at the pumps.

Just talking about gas-tax increases gives pump-owners the green light to raise prices. We shouldn't be surprised that a profit-driven concern like a gas-mart would want that $0.20 per gallon to go into its own coffers.
-Steve

Posted by: Steve at September 22, 2005 07:15 AM